After seven weeks and 47 matches, the 2023 Cricket World Cup finally reaches its conclusion on Sunday and only the strongest survive.

Hosts India have waltzed serenely through the competition, while Australia have rediscovered their fighting instincts after a slow start.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the key issues ahead of the winner-takes-all battle.

Can King Kohli be stopped

With over 300 million followers on social media, Virat Kohli transcends his sport. But with 711 runs in 10 matches to date, he has also proved that he masters it too. Kohli has been in majestic form over the past few weeks, standing up remarkably to sky-high expectations. He has passed 50 eight times and celebrated three centuries. Having failed to deliver a global title as captain, it increasingly appears to be his destiny to deliver one for successor Rohit Sharma. If they are to win, Australia simply must prevent him holding court.

Seam supremacy

Both sides have pace bowlers who can wreak havoc when they are on a roll and an unplayable spell from any one of them could be decisive. In Mohammed Shami, India boast the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with the wily quick claiming a staggering 23 wickets at 9.13 despite sitting out four group matches. He has stolen the spotlight so far, but Jasprit Bumrah is built for the big occasions and will fancy leaving his mark on the final. Australia, meanwhile, lean heavily on the ‘big three’ of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who dovetail brilliantly with their distinct set of skills. Keeping them out of the wickets while maintaining a strong scoring rate remains one of the trickiest challenges around.

Pitch imperfect?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India caused a controversy ahead of the semi-final against New Zealand, switching the pre-agreed pitch for an alternative strip at the eleventh hour. The International Cricket Council’s independent pitch consultant Andy Atkinson was understood to be angry about the barely explained change and flew to Ahmedabad to oversee matters ahead of the final. His recommendation, pitch number five at the Narendra Modi Stadium, has been followed this time but once again it is a used surface having previously hosted India’s game against Pakistan on October 14. A fresher track would be fitting for a game of this magnitude but a worn surface favours the home side, who boast greater spin options. Australia will be paying close attention to how well it plays.

Powerplay positioning

Despite the strength of the new-ball attacks, both teams are built to attack in the first 10 overs. India lead off with their fearless captain Rohit Sharma and the incorrigible driver Shubman Gill, while Australia look to dominate through the trailblazer-turned-veteran David Warner and the in-form Travis Head. All four openers have the ball-striking ability to take the game away from opponents and it will not have escaped anybody’s notice that the team who bosses the powerplay head-to-head is the team that typically wins in these conditions. Of the quartet, 37-year-old Warner is in the most interesting position as he retires from the format at the end of the match. Nothing would vex this tigerish competitor more than bowing out without getting his punches in first.

Australia captain Pat Cummins is hoping to silence over 100,000 India fans as his side take on the all-conquering hosts in a tantalising World Cup final.

India have beaten all comers on home soil over the past seven weeks, cheered on by passionate local support in every city they have visited.

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the biggest cricket ground on the planet, will be teeming with blue shirts on Sunday and they will all be barracking for the same result.

When Pakistan played India at the same venue earlier in the competition, their team director Mickey Arthur pointed out that the lack of away fans meant “it didn’t seem like an ICC event, it seemed like a BCCI event” but Cummins insists Australia must not be daunted by the numbers game.

Instead, he wants them to savour the opportunity of ruining the partisan atmosphere.

“I think you’ve got to embrace it. The crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided but in sport there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow,” he said.

“Every part of a final, even in the lead-up, there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed. You’ve got to be up for it, you’ve got to love it and just know whatever happens it’s fine. You just want to finish the day with no regrets.

“We play over here in India a lot so the noise is not something new. I think on this scale it’s probably bigger than we would have experienced before but it’s not something totally foreign to what we’ve had before. Everyone deals with it slightly differently, you’ll see Davey [Warner] probably dancing and winning the crowd over and other guys just staying in their own bubble, but it should be good.”

While India’s host status and irresistible run of results – 10 straight wins including a straightforward six-wicket success over Australia at the start of the group stage on October 8 – makes them favourites, their opponents boast the better pedigree.

Australia are five-time winners of the biggest prize in the one-day game, thrashing India by 134 runs when they met in the 2003 final in Johannesburg, and Cummins is one of several survivors from the triumphant 2015 team.

“We were all kids not too long ago, watching some of those great teams win the 1999, 2003, 2007 World Cups and that’s the opportunity ahead of us tomorrow, which is really exciting,” he said.

“To be captain would be an absolute privilege to lift the trophy with these great bunch of blokes. It’d be awesome and in terms of the pinnacle, I think it is right up there. It’s got the longest history of a world event where all the teams compete and you only get a shot at it every four years.

“So even if you have a long career, you might only play in two of these events – 2015 is still a career highlight for me, so I think tomorrow if we win, that might pip it.”

Australia have no injury concerns in their 15-man squad and could go in unchanged following their tight semi-final win over South Africa. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis could come into consideration as an extra bowling option, with Marnus Labuschagne the only specialist batter looking over his shoulder.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc was looking forward to “a great spectacle of cricket” after his side book their spot in the World Cup final against hosts India.

Starc helped Australia conquer South Africa in the semi-final at Eden Gardens, claiming three for 34 and holding up his end in a vital partnership with captain Pat Cummins during the closing moments of a tense chase.

In the end Australia squeaked home by three wickets in a low-scoring encounter, with Starc’s new-ball burst doing a huge amount of heavy lifting.

He set the tone for the day by removing Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma in the first over, then dismissed Aiden Markram as he and Josh Hazlewood reduced their opponents to 24 for four.

The intensity is only going to be dialled up when they take on undefeated home favourites India in Ahmedabad on Sunday, with up to 100,000 locals ready to roar their nation on at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

And it is a prospect Starc is ready to embrace.

“It’s certainly going to be a big occasion, a World Cup Final in India. It’s going to be loud,” he said.

“I think it’s just going to be a great spectacle of cricket, no doubt. There’s going to be a lot of passion there. Certainly, everyone in our changing room is looking forward to it.

“I don’t think either changing room is new to big occasions. You want to take on the best and that’s why we play the game. They’ve been the best team in the tournament so far and we both find ourselves in the final. That’s what World Cups are about.”

Starc’s skipper, Cummins, was equally enthused about the prospect having been part of Australia’s last ODI world champion squad on home soil eight years ago.

“The stadium is going to be packed, pretty one-sided, but we’ve got to embrace it,” he said.

“The 2015 World Cup was a career highlight, so to be out there in a final in India, I can’t wait.”

Starc agreed with the idea that over the course of a hard-fought contest against South Africa, Australia’s victory lay in their aggression during the powerplay overs. While he and Hazlewood established a stranglehold over the batters, Travis Head and David Warner went on the attack as they raided 60 runs off the first six.

On both occasions, damage was done that could not be clawed back by the Proteas.

“We’ve seen throughout the tournament how tough the first 10 overs can be at certain times…when you’re willing to take the game on like that, sometimes you take a little bit of luck with you,” he said.

“It certainly went to plan with the ball today and the way we set up with the bat is to really be aggressive, take the game on and the freedom to give those guys to go out and play the way they like to.”

Losing coach Rob Walter gave South Africa credit for battling back into contention after their early collapse, making 212 on the back of David Miller’s 101, and insisted the age-old tag of ‘chokers’ was no longer fitting.

“It’s obviously gutting to lose a semi-final but beyond that, I’m incredibly proud of the fight shown by the lads,” he said.

“I guess you need to define what a ‘choke’ is. For me, a choke is losing a game that you’re in a position to win. In this instance, we were behind the eight ball right from the word go and we actually fought our way back into the competition and put up a score that gave us a chance.

“For me there’s nothing even remotely close to a choke that happened out there today. It’s a serious contest between two good teams, number two and three in the tournament.”

India captain Rohit Sharma felt his side could never relax as they closed out a 70-run win over New Zealand to reach the World Cup final following Virat Kohli’s record-breaking 50th ODI century in Mumbai.

Sachin Tendulkar was in his home city to witness first-hand Kohli set a new benchmark in ODIs with a typically assured 117 off 113 balls which laid the foundations for India’s mammoth 397 for four.

New Zealand then battled hard in the chase, but hopes of a third successive World Cup final appearance were dashed despite Daryl Mitchell’s fine 134 as they were all out for 327 as Mohammed Shami took a career-best seven for 57.

Rohit, though, admitted he had never taken victory as assured as the 1983 and 2011 champions kept on course for victory on home soil.

“I have played a lot of cricket here, any score on this ground, you can’t relax. Got to get the job done quickly and stay at it,” Rohit said in his post-match presentation interview.

“We knew there would be pressure on us. We were very calm, even though we were a bit sloppy on the field.

“These things are bound to happen, but glad we could get the job done.

“The form all the guys are in, top five or six batters, whenever they’ve gotten an opportunity, they’ve made it count.”

Rohit added: “Being the semi-final, I won’t say there was no pressure, whenever you play there’s pressure, but a semi-final adds a bit extra.

“We wanted to not think too much about it, just do what we’ve been doing like in the first nine games. Things came off for us nicely in the second half.”

After moving to three figures off 106 balls, Kohli leapt and punched the air, briefly sunk to his knees before rising and soaking up the acclaim from a frenzied crowd which included Tendulkar and David Beckham.

Tendulkar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, he “couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record” as Kohli moved into a class of his own in his 291st ODI – 172 fewer than his former team-mate.

Reflecting on his achievement, Kohli said: “It is the stuff of dreams.

“It is very difficult for me to explain this, but if I could paint a perfect picture, I would want this to be the picture.

“My life partner, the person I love the most, she’s sitting there (in the stands). My hero (Tendulkar) he’s sitting there. And I was able to get the 50th in front of all of them and all these fans in such a historic venue. It was amazing.”

India gained a measure of revenge for being dumped out at the same stage of the 2019 tournament by the Black Caps.

Shami said: “It feels amazing. In the last two World Cups, we lost (in the semi-finals), so who knows when or if we will get a chance again.

“We wanted to do everything for this, one chance we didn’t want to let go.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was proud of his side’s efforts.

“Firstly, congrats to India, they played outstandingly well, probably their best game today,” he said. “400 was naturally going to be tough, but credit to the guys, proud effort to stay in the fight.

“It is disappointing to go out, but I am super proud of the effort that has gone in for the last seven weeks.

“The effort was there, but India are top class, have world-class batters who didn’t give us a sniff really.

“You come in and get 400, it’s a tick in the box. They deserve to be where they are, played outstandingly well.

“It wasn’t to be today, but it was nice to be out there to give ourselves a chance.

“It was a fantastic crowd, unbelievable atmosphere, slightly one-sided in the support, but special to be part of the tournament.”

Australia captain Pat Cummins is sure the five-time World Cup winners can use past experience of the big occasion to their advantage when they take on South Africa in Kolkata.

Cummins’ side are on a roll since losing against tournament hosts India and their opponents on Thursday, winning their remaining seven group-stage matches to storm into yet another semi-final.

South Africa might have prevailed in Lucknow and in an ODI series between the teams in September, but Australia have significantly more experience than the Proteas in the knockouts of a major tournament.

Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were part of the 2015 trophy-winning campaign as well as the T20 World Cup triumph two years ago.

The Australia captain said: “What helps us is we’ve got a lot of guys that have been in this situation before that have won one-day World Cup, T20 World Cup, various other tournaments in big moments.

“You can draw on that in the middle of the contest. Obviously you start from scratch every time you play. They’re a team we’ve played quite a lot and know quite well.

“But this week it’s probably going to be quite different to say the South African series that we just played against them a couple of months ago.”

Australia memorably knocked out South Africa at the same stage in 1999 at Edgbaston, where a tied match went the way of Steve Waugh’s side because they finished higher in the group stage on net run-rate.

The finale is one of the most replayed of all-time as Allan Donald was chaotically run out, despite South Africa still having two balls in which to get the solitary run they needed for victory.

Cummins said: “It’s kind of folklore, isn’t it? I’ve seen that replay heaps of times, you hear the stories.”

Australia have steadily grown in confidence in India, emboldened by Maxwell’s rescue act against Afghanistan as his 201 not out secured a dramatic win and was widely hailed as the best ODI knock ever.

Marsh ensured a seventh straight victory with an unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh, so Australia will head into their Eden Gardens showdown with plenty of optimism.

Cummins added: “As a team you grow an extra leg because you feel like you can win a match from anywhere and having someone like Maxi in your team is just a complete luxury. He’s a superstar, he’s a freak.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is upbeat about his team’s chances of taking down “exceptional” India when the teams meet in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

Hosts India have won all nine of their games at the tournament so far and are the favourites to go on and lift the trophy for the first time since 2011.

The Black Caps suffered four group-stage defeats, including a four-wicket loss to India on October 22, but Williamson insists that will have no bearing when the teams meet again in Mumbai for a place in the final.

“India have been exceptional,” he told a press conference. “They are one of the, if not the best team going around and are playing cricket that matches that.

“But we know on our day, when we play our best cricket, it gives us the best chance.

“We know it’s going to be a really tough challenge. They are a side that have been playing extremely well but we all know, come finals time, everything starts again and it’s all about the day.

“Every game in this tournament is a tricky one. As we’ve seen throughout, anybody can beat anybody on the day, whether that be the quality on both sides but also the change in conditions and if that has an impact.

“For us, it’s great to have got to the final stage and then take a fresh approach because it does start again.”

England bowed out of the World Cup and ushered in the end of an era as their old stagers mustered one last victory over Pakistan.

The defending champions of 2019 were making their final stand in India, their timid departure from the tournament long confirmed and the break-up of a decorated team already in motion, but managed to sign off with a 93-run win at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

David Willey is the only member of the current squad to have formally announced his retirement – a direct consequence of being the only one without a central contract – but this is an old group, past its prime in the 50-over format and ripe for renewal.

That process will start on Sunday morning, when squads are announced for next month’s white-ball tour of the West Indies, but there was a final opportunity for this band of thirtysomething trailblazers to get over the line together and guarantee a spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Ben Stokes took a familiar leading role in proceedings, following up his century against the Netherlands by top-scoring with 84 – a coincidental mirror image of his score in the World Cup final four years ago – with Joe Root making 60 in a final score 337 for nine.

Pakistan were 244 all out in reply, Willey writing his own farewell as figures of three for 56 left him with exactly 100 ODI wickets. The finishing touch was applied by Chris Woakes, who made Haris Rauf his 31st victim at World Cups, breaking Sir Ian Botham’s English record.

Stokes and Root have been standard bearers for this generation and they took the chance to put on 132 in what will probably be their last partnership together outside of Test cricket.

Returning to the scene of his personal heartbreak in 2016, when Carlos Brathwaite hit him for four consecutive sixes to snatch the T20 World Cup from England’s grasp, Stokes managed to bank a few good memories of his own at the famous old ground.

After being handed a life on 10, when Shaheen Afridi spilled a return catch, he reeled off 11 boundaries and two maximums of his own. One was reminiscent of the Brathwaite assault, clubbed over long-on, but the other was a work of even greater skill and imagination.

Switching his hands against Agha Salman, he slogged a reverse-lap all the way over the ropes at deep third and tumbled the floor as he followed through.

Root’s innings was a more workmanlike affair, but after a six-game lean streak he made sure to get a score on the board. His first 58 deliveries contained only one boundary – off a wayward full toss – but he kept Stokes company and caught up a little as he went on.

In the process he became the first England batter to pass 1,000 runs in World Cup cricket and levelled former captain Eoin Morgan’s record of 55 half-centuries.

Shaheen returned to dismiss both of them before further damage was done, Stokes losing his off stump to a yorker and Root miscuing a slower ball.

Earlier, England had enjoyed their most productive powerplay of the tournament as Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow piled on 72 without loss. Malan’s 31 took his tally for the tournament to 404 – a hundred clear of his nearest challenger – and Bairstow’s 59 was his best of the trip. But amid the clamour for change it is hard to see either man with a long-term role in the ODI setup.

Change is coming and neither 36-year-old Malan nor 34-year-old Bairstow, with a Test career to serve and a major leg break in his recent past, may be able to resist.

The last 10 overs there were suitably chaotic, with 97 runs scored, seven wickets falling and five sixes peppering the stands. Jos Buttler (27 in 18 balls), Harry Brook (30 in 17) and Willey (15 off five) were among those to play their part.

Pakistan had arrived with a tiny chance of reaching the semi-finals but needed to bat first to keep it even faintly realistic. By the time they began their chase all hope had gone.

But there was still time for Willey, who has enjoyed an unlikely lap of honour since announcing his retirement in the midst of England’s losing streak, to produce on his last turn with the new ball.

He had Abdullah Shafique lbw with an inswinger in his first over and the dangerous power-hitter Fakhar Zaman caught on the charge in his second.

Pakistan’s most reliable duo held things up with a 51-run stand but Babar Azam dragged a Gus Atkinson bouncer straight to short midwicket and Mohammed Rizwan was clean bowled by sharp turn from Moeen Ali.

That was the first of four successive wickets to spin as Moeen and Adil Rashid played tricks on a wearing pitch. Willey and Woakes were both able to celebrate their landmarks as England secured seventh in the table, Stokes settling underneath the match-winning catch.

Dawid Malan knows that change is coming after England’s World Cup blowout and is realistic enough to accept that he could be swept away by the tide.

Malan has been one of the side’s strongest performers during a ragged title defence in India, scoring 373 runs at an average of 46.52, but at 36 years old looks vulnerable to a post-tournament cull.

A team loaded with thirty-somethings, including eight world champions from 2019, is likely to be broken up after one last outing against Pakistan at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Saturday, with the selectors set to look to the future.

Malan has more reason than most to resist. He spent years fighting for his opportunity and has put together an exceptional set of statistics in just 29 caps – only India’s Shubman Gill has ever scored more ODI runs with a better average and strike-rate – but is phlegmatic about his fate.

“Tomorrow could be my last game of cricket for England or it could still be the start of another journey. Who knows? We’ll only find out when the dust settles,” he said.

“I’m the second oldest in the squad…you’re quite realistic when you get to a certain stage. I don’t know what my future holds.

“Playing for England means everything for me. I’ve made no secret of that, I’ve always wanted to be part of this team for as long as I can but ultimately you get to a stage where you have to look a little bit further ahead and what’s best for the team. I guess there’s decisions to be made over the next couple of days and we’ll see where we end up.”

Malan last month signed a new one-year central contract which covers next summer’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States. But England’s desire for a fresh direction could prompt action in the shorter format too, and Malan hopes to get a clearer idea of his position from director of cricket Rob Key, who has just linked back up with the squad.

He is overseeing squad selection for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies and could also find himself in demand among players eager to find out where they stand.

“There could be a total overhaul for both (white-ball formats),” Malan said.

“I’ll probably have a chat with Rob in the next couple of days before I fly out, just to find out how he sees it and the direction he wants to go in. As long as people are honest, you can take that. And I’m pretty sure he will be. It’s been the hallmark of him since he’s taken over.”

When the fixtures were first released for the tournament, a final group game England versus Pakistan would have been highlighted as a contest with plenty of interest hanging on it ahead of the semi-finals.

Instead, it could prove a hollow excursion. England are only really playing for a place at the Champions Trophy in 18 months – which could be theirs even in defeat – while Pakistan need a historically ridiculous margin of victory to reach the knockouts.

“There’s massive regret from us all that we haven’t been able to perform as well as we would have liked,” Malan said of a campaign comprising six defeats and two wins.

“We’d have loved to be here at the business end, replicating what that fantastic team did in 2019 and what we did in the T20 World Cup in 2022, but it just hasn’t been like that and I think as a group reflecting on it, we’re extremely disappointed.”

England could hand Brydon Carse a first appearance of the tournament, with the Durham seamer one of those with a role to play in the rebuild, while Harry Brook should keep his place as a torch-bearer of the coming generation.

Malan is certain Brook is on course for a glittering future but urged against weighing his 24-year-old Yorkshire team-mate down with expectation.

“I feel like there’s been so much pressure put on Harry’s shoulders, almost as if he was the saviour of English cricket,” he said.

“The poor kid is still learning his way and he’s still trying to find his feet in international cricket and learn his game. Hopefully he learns from this as well and from all the pressure that’s been put on his shoulders, and he can find a way to keep getting better because I think he’s an exceptional talent.

“I can see him playing 100 games for England across all formats of the game and I hope he does. Harry is one of the quickest learners I’ve seen as a young player and hopefully he can keep learning and hit those heights that we all know he’s capable of achieving.”

Jos Buttler is keen to stay on as captain and lead England’s ODI rebuild as he prepares for a World Cup post-mortem with director of cricket Rob Key.

Key has flown out to India for the second time, having been part of the touring party earlier in the tournament, and will begin the process of picking the bones out of a miserable title defence with Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott in the coming days.

A 160-run win over Netherlands in Pune on Wednesday gives them something positive to talk about after five successive defeats and put England back on track for Champions Trophy qualification in 2025 ahead of their final game against Pakistan.

There have been questions over the leadership of the side in India, which Key may wish to examine more closely, but Buttler has made it clear he wants to lead what will be a much-changed squad when it tours the West Indies next month.

Asked if he would be travelling as skipper, Buttler said: “Yeah, I’d like to. I know Rob Key arrives into India today. We can have some good conversations with him and the coach and make a plan for that tour. But, yes, I would like to.

“I’m competitive, I want to win any game I play, whether it’s a game of cards or a game of cricket. So I’m delighted with this win. It’s been a frustrating time, not winning games of cricket or playing as well as we’d like, I’m delighted with this win.”

Match-winner Ben Stokes, whose backs-against-the-wall 108 set England up for victory, will not be going to the Caribbean as he heads for a knee operation at the end of the tournament.

Some, including his friend and former team-mate Steve Harmison, felt Stokes should have been sent home for surgery as soon as the semi-finals were out of reach but his presence carried the side through a familiar batting wobble against the Dutch.

At one stage they had slipped from 133 for one to 192 for six and, without Stokes’ bullish knock, would have fallen far short of their winning mark of 339.

The man himself told the post-match presentation “I don’t leave anyone hanging” and Buttler said an early exit was never on the cards.

“No, we haven’t had any conversations like that. It’s not Ben’s style at all,” he said.

“He’s committed, he wants to play and he wants to put in performances like you saw here. Anytime you need someone to stand up when the team’s under pressure, he’s had a history of always doing that for whoever he’s playing for.

“We’re very lucky to have him in the team and I thought his innings today was exceptional.”

England head to Kolkata on Thursday, where they conclude their disappointing campaign against Pakistan at the weekend.

Their opponents still have a chance to reach the semi-finals, while Buttler’s men still need to tie down a top-eight finish to book a Champions Trophy place in 2025.

“It’s a huge game for us, vital,” he said.

“We haven’t performed the way we wanted to this whole trip, and we’d like to leave India putting in a proper performance.”

Ben Stokes smashed his first World Cup century as England picked up a consolation win over Netherlands and raised their prospects of salvaging a place at the Champions Trophy.

The 2019 champions arrived in Pune for a bottom-of-the-table clash with a five-match losing streak behind them and the knowledge that another slip up would see them miss out on ODI cricket’s next global event in 2025.

But despite wobbling once again with the bat – going from 133 for one to 192 for six – Stokes had the will and skill to carry his side to a 160-run victory.

He struck 108 from 84 balls, grafting hard to begin with then accelerating sharply, to lift England to an imposing 339 for nine.

That was always going to be too many for a Dutch side who lacked the firepower to match Stokes and they wilted for 179 all out.

With two points and a healthy boost to their net run-rate England climbed from 10th to seventh in one jump, overtaking their opponents, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Ben Stokes blasted 108 as England posted 339 for nine to take control of their bottom-of-the-table World Cup clash against the Netherlands in Pune.

With their semi-final chances a distant memory, both sides still had plenty to play for, with a place at the 2025 Champions Trophy the prize for a top-eight finish, and England had Stokes to thank for their putting them in the box seat.

At 192 for six they were making life extremely difficult for themselves, but Stokes raced through the gears to do the hard work his side so badly needed.

Having ground out a hard-working fifty in 58 deliveries, he exploded into life and took just 20 more to reach his fifth ODI century in a display of power-hitting that helped bring 114 runs in the last 10 overs.

Despite not hitting any boundaries as he dug in between the 29th and the 43rd, he finished with six sixes and six fours before holing out with two balls left.

Coming off the back of five demoralising defeats in a row, Stokes produced a show of skill and character that reinforced his status as his team’s “spiritual leader” – a title first uttered by under-pressure head coach Matthew Mott during his spell on the injured list at the start of the tournament.

Former England seamer Steve Harmison, Stokes’ close friend and former Durham team-mate, called on England to send the 32-year-old home ahead of this match to accelerate his forthcoming knee surgery, but it is hard to see who could have provided the impetus had they done so.

Chris Woakes provided good support as he made 51 in a seventh-wicket of stand of 129 with Stokes, while Dawid Malan (87) was on course for a ton of his own until a silly run out cost him.

England had bossed the opening exchanges, Malan pounding out 10 boundaries in a 36-ball fifty in the powerplay, and even papered over Jonny Bairstow’s sloppy dismissal for 15 via a top edge.

The score was 133 for one when Joe Root attempted, for the second time, one of his trademark reverse scoops over the wicketkeeper. The first one had raced away for four, but this time he got his timings all wrong and was clean bowled through his own legs without even committing a full swing of the bat.

Root has struggled for runs for much of the last month, but falling to a Logan van Beek nutmeg was a new one on his bingo card.

Malan, who had driven expertly and swept two big sixes off Roelof van der Merwe, then fell on his sword in the very next over.

Setting off for a single despite tapping straight to cover, he was sent back by Stokes and caught an inch out of his ground by some smart work in the field.

Suddenly England looked vulnerable again, with the recalled Harry Brook (11) pulling Bas de Leede tamely into the leg-side to fluff his opportunity back in the XI.

Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali followed for single figures, the off-form skipper picking out mid-off and his deputy arcing the softest possible catch to long-off.

Stokes grafted hard to keep the innings alive, getting his eye in before finally indulging himself at the back end.

Aryan Dutt’s last over went for 24, De Leede’s final two shipped 34 and Paul van Meekeren delivered a steady stream of wides as the pressure told.

Stokes reached his hundred with a reverse sweep and finally departed in the closing moments looking for one last blow.

Glenn Maxwell rewrote the World Cup record books as he single-handedly batted Australia to a remarkable win over Afghanistan.

Maxwell defied “horrific” back spasms to hit an unbeaten 201 and power his side from 91 for seven to 293 and a three-wicket win.

It was Australia’s first one-day international double century and here the PA news agency looks at the records set by Maxwell and his eighth-wicket partner Pat Cummins.

Double delight

The highest ODI score by an Australia batter stood at 185 not out, by Shane Watson against Bangladesh in 2011, until Maxwell’s astonishing effort in Mumbai.

It is only the third double century at a World Cup, with West Indies star Chris Gayle setting a record of 215 against Zimbabwe in 2015 but then watching New Zealand’s Martin Guptill top it with 237 not out against his side later in the same tournament.

He is only the ninth man to make an ODI double hundred, with 11 such scores in total, including three for India’s Rohit Sharma. Maxwell made Australia only the fifth nation represented on that list – India with seven from Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, while Fakhar Zaman hit 210 not out for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2018.

In 128 balls, Maxwell’s is also the fastest World Cup double – Gayle took 138 balls to reach the landmark and Guptill 152. Kishan narrowly held on to the fastest ODI double, in 126 balls against Bangladesh last year.

The inning was completed fittingly with the winning six, Maxwell’s 10th to go with 21 fours – only Guptill, with 24 fours and 11 sixes in his 237, has scored more runs in boundaries in a World Cup innings.

Perfect partner

“Just ridiculous!” Cummins told Sky Sports with a smile, adding: “It’s got to be the greatest ODI innings that’s ever happened, it’s one of those days where you just go, ‘When that happened, I was here in the stadium’.”

The Australia captain was far more than a mere spectator, though, defying Afghanistan for 68 balls in a two-hour stay at the crease.

He contributed 12 runs to a lop-sided partnership of 202, which destroyed the ODI record for the eighth wicket – an unbroken 138 between South Africa’s Justin Kemp and Andrew Hall against India in 2006 – and the Australian best of 119 between Paul Reiffel and Shane Warne against the Proteas in 1994.

It was also the first 200 stand for any wicket from the seventh downwards – the previous record being Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid’s 177 for England’s seventh wicket against New Zealand in 2015.

Mitchell Marsh’s 24 was the second-highest score as Maxwell racked up 68.6 per cent of Australia’s runs in the innings – only West Indies great Sir Viv Richards has ever scored a greater share of his team’s runs in a completed ODI innings, 189no in a total of 272 for nine against England in 1984 (69.5 per cent).

Afghanistan contributed valiantly to a thrilling match and, while it will be relegated to a footnote after Maxwell’s heroics, opener Ibrahim Zadran carried his bat for 129no to record their first World Cup century.

Glenn Maxwell hit a record-breaking double-century as Australia fought back to beat Afghanistan by three wickets in a remarkable contest in Mumbai and seal a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

The three-time champions, targeting 292 for victory, slumped to 91 for seven before turning things around thanks to Maxwell’s breathtaking unbeaten 201, which came off 128 balls and included 21 fours and 10 sixes.

It was with the last of those sixes that the 35-year-old all-rounder – who battled on despite appearing in some pain – wrapped up the win with 19 deliveries to go.

It was the highest-ever score by an Australian in a one-day international, as the team achieved the highest successful ODI run chase there had ever been at the Wankhede Stadium.

The ground had seen history made earlier with Afghanistan recording their maiden World Cup century, Ibrahim Zadran posting an unbeaten 12.

Their total of 291 for five also featured contributions of 35 not out from Rashid Khan and 30 from Rahmat Shah as Afghanistan sought to beat Australia for the first time at the fourth attempt in this format.

Australia’s reply started badly with Travis Head being dismissed for a duck by Naveen-ul-Haq with only four runs on the board.

And the wickets continued to go as Pat Cummins’ men stumbled to 49 for four after Azmatullah Omarzai took the scalps of David Warner and Josh Inglis in consecutive balls.

When Mitchell Starc was ousted – despite questions over whether the ball had hit his bat – via a superb catch from wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil to leave Australia at 91 for seven in the 19th over, Afghanistan looked to be closing in on a famous victory.

But Maxwell then took centre stage with a stunning display to push Australia to victory.

Having been dropped and survived an lbw appeal on review, he went on to register boundary after boundary, even though at times he looked to be in considerable discomfort and struggling to run.

Able to continue after receiving treatment on the field, he subsequently completed his double-century – and Australia’s win – in fitting fashion by crashing yet another maximum that took his partnership with Cummins (12) to 202.

Third-placed Australia advance into the last four, joining India and South Africa, ahead of finishing their group matches by playing Bangladesh in Pune on Saturday.

Afghanistan remain sixth, with one of them, New Zealand and Pakistan set to make the semi-finals – they face South Africa in Ahmedabad on Friday.

England’s early exit from the World Cup is already guaranteed but assistant coach Carl Hopkinson insists their bottom-of-the-table clash against the Netherlands is no “dead rubber”.

As the tournament finally edges towards the business end, the defending champions have long since become an afterthought in the wider context of the competition.

They have lost six of their seven games and saw their last mathematical chance of a miracle wiped off the table by rivals Australia in Ahmedabad last week.

The best they can hope for now is avoiding a first ever ODI defeat to the Dutch, the only associate nation competing in India, and keep their prospects of reaching the 2025 Champions Trophy alive.

They need a top-eight finish to book their spot, meaning there is no leeway for wallowing in their dreadful form when they take the field in Pune on Wednesday.

The appearance of Hopkinson, a low-key member of the backroom team responsible primarily for fielding, suggested the squad were not keen on issuing their own public call to arms, but he has no qualms about their motivation.

“I don’t think there’s ever a dead rubber when you play for England, to be honest. I think the lads are completely up for it,” he said.

“We’ve got two games in which we need to win both to qualify for the Champions Trophy, so I think that’s there for everybody to see. The guys are going to be obviously up for it and I think we’ll be good.

“We need to win and win well to qualify for the Champions Trophy, which is what we need to do.”

On his unexpected role as carrier of the England message, he added: “I’m not quite sure why I’m the man to explain, (but) I’m an assistant coach with the England team and I’m more than happy to come out and speak about our campaign so far.”

England have named an unchanged side for the last three games, losing emphatically to Sri Lanka, India and Australia, and could belatedly mix things up.

Harry Brook is on hand to add ballast to a badly under-performing top six, but could be added in place of all-rounder Liam Livingstone rather than one of the specialist batters.

Livingstone adds an extra spin option but has not been able to carry his share of the run-scoring load, with just 60 runs in six innings.

Pace bowler Mark Wood, who has been managing a sore knee, could also miss out with Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson snapping at his heels for a chance.

Wood is the fastest seamer in the squad by a distance, consistently clearing 90mph, but has struggled to keep a lid on his economy rate and has only six wickets at 58.16.

Carse and Atkinson are both likely to form part of England’s white-ball future, leaving captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott to decide whether now is the time to blood them in a game with live stakes.

Ben Stokes’ fitness was under observation on the eve of the match, with the Test captain carrying various niggles. He missed the first three games here with a hip problem and is set to undergo surgery on his long-standing left-knee injury when he gets back to England.

Former England quick Steve Harmison told the PA news agency this week that the team management should instruct Stokes to leave the camp and go home early in a bid to fast-track his recovery for the new-year Test series in India.

But Hopkinson suggested that idea was not under consideration.

“Knowing Ben, he’ll want to try and play the next game in front of him and try and win that for England,” he said.

“He’s about winning games of cricket for England, so I’d imagine that’s what he’ll be thinking about first and foremost.

“Once he’s obviously made that decision to have the operation, that’s obviously booked in and that’s what he’s going to do, but it’s not before this tournament finishes.”

England were chasing 287 against Ashes rivals Australia in Ahmedabad as they attempted to salvage some pride to their listless World Cup campaign.

Chris Woakes, player of the series after a starring role in this summer’s Test series between the sides, turned in another impressive showing as Australia were bowled out for 286 in the final over.

Woakes topped and tailed the innings, dismissing the dangerous opening pair of Travis Head and David Warner with the new ball and returning to take the last two wickets at the death.

He finished with four for 54, while Adil Rashid’s leg-spin locked down the middle overs in clinical style as he picked up two for 38 from his 10.

But an England side who started the day bottom of the table after five losses from six will be painfully aware that nothing can be taken for granted, having been rolled over for 215 or less by Afghanistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and India in the last three weeks.

Having gone in unchanged for the third game in a row, keeping Harry Brook benched despite the repeated struggles of the top six, they will need a sharp upturn in productivity from their batters.

Australia were lacking the fire-power of Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell, the former having flown home for personal reasons and the latter concussed after falling from a golf cart, and although their power-hitting was conspicuously absent they did not fold.

Steve Smith (44) and Marnus Labuschagne (71) channelled their less explosive methods to rebuild after Woakes’ early inroads and Cameron Green chipped in a handy 47 on his return to the XI.

Australia kept wickets in hand for long periods but never quite used their foundation, losing five for 66 in the final 10 overs.

England were back at the site of their first match in a dreadful campaign which was branded “crap” in a blunt assessment by Ben Stokes on the eve of this match.

They made 282 for nine and after batting first against New Zealand in the curtain-raiser at the Narendra Modi Stadium only to watch the Black Caps knock off a nine-wicket win with minimal fuss.

They will now be hoping to produce a successful pursuit of their own.